Most of us view our emotions and feelings as being their own “thing” - or something separate from our physical function. We go to a therapist for our emotions and a doctor for digestive dysfunction. But what if our emotions and feelings weren’t just reactions to the things going on around us, but were also a reflection of what’s going on inside of us? What if we could see improvements in anxiety, depression, memory, PTSD, and our ability to handle stress by improving gut health?
Research suggests that what's now known as the “gut-brain connection” is something we should be paying attention to if we want to feel our best both physically AND emotionally.
How our gut impacts our psychology
You probably already know about the relationship between your gut and your brain more intimately than you’d think. Recall the last time you got a text that said “we need to talk” or when you got some devastating news - did you feel your stomach drop? Did you FEEL the gut-wrenching physical impact of that external stressor? That is a function of the gut-brain axis!
Our guts are pretty intelligent - they contain what’s called the enteric nervous system (ENS), which is often called the “second brain” due to the fact that it contains around 400 million neurons, located in our intestinal walls! This means our guts can sense tons of information & communicate directly to our central nervous system (brain), which interprets the world around us and controls our feelings, choices, and behaviors. Our gut can potentially have an impact on our “affect, motivation, and higher cognitive functions,” (Carabotti et al, 2014).
The same applies in reverse - the information coming from our brains (our perception of the external world, and our feelings, emotions, and behaviors) can also impact how our gut functions. Stressful conditions can have an impact on gastrointestinal motility (how food moves through your digestive system), gut permeability (how easily substances can pass through the GI wall), immune function, and the release of specific hormones in the GI tract.
What does the research say?
Here are some interesting aspects of the gut-brain axis that are developing in research:
- Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) have been linked to the diversity of microbiota in humans - people with autism had significantly different microbiota compared with controls. There is much more research to be done in this area, but initial research is intriguing.
- People who have functional gastrointestinal disorders like IBS are more likely to also have mood disorders and exhibit disruptions in the gut-brain axis.
- There is increasing evidence that gut dysbiosis may be correlated with symptoms of depression, anxiety, OCD, PTSD, and dementia. As we learn more, the connection between gut health and mental health becomes increasingly clear.
What you should know
Your gut health can impact your psychology, and vice versa.
- Chronic inflammation can contribute to gut dysfunction, and gut dysfunction can contribute to difficulty in handling stress, creating a vicious cycle of stress & gut issues.
To improve gut health with lifestyle changes, focus on:
- Prioritizing stress management & getting quality rest
- Eating as many different types of plant foods as possible (even in small amounts!)
- Reduce consumption of highly processed foods
- Remove foods that cause you gastric upset
- In some cases, some people may need remove foods that contain gluten and dairy, which can be common causes of inflammation in the gut
Our physiology and our psychology are intimately & intricately related. We cannot separate the two. If you are struggling with mental health, giving your gut some love and attention alongside mental health treatment could make a difference in your life!
Need an expert in your corner to help you not only navigate gut health, but reach all of your health and fitness goals? Learn more about our online coaching by clicking here!
Further reading
Bruce-Keller, A. J., Salbaum, J. M., & Berthoud, H. R. (2018). Harnessing Gut Microbes for Mental Health: Getting From Here to There. Biological psychiatry, 83(3), 214–223. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2017.08.014
Carabotti, M., Scirocco, A., Maselli, M. A., & Severi, C. (2015). The gut-brain axis: interactions between enteric microbiota, central and enteric nervous systems. Annals of gastroenterology, 28(2), 203–209.
Halverson, T., & Alagiakrishnan, K. (2020). Gut microbes in neurocognitive and mental health disorders. Annals of medicine, 52(8), 423–443. https://doi.org/10.1080/07853890.2020.1808239
Saulnier, D. M., Ringel, Y., Heyman, M. B., Foster, J. A., Bercik, P., Shulman, R. J., Versalovic, J., Verdu, E. F., Dinan, T. G., Hecht, G., & Guarner, F. (2013). The intestinal microbiome, probiotics and prebiotics in neurogastroenterology. Gut microbes, 4(1), 17–27. https://doi.org/10.4161/gmic.22973
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